The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936

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For two weeks in August 1936, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi dictatorship masked its racist, militarist character while hosting the Summer Olympic Games. To divert attention from its antisemitic agenda and plans for territorial expansion, the regime exploited the Games to dazzle spectators with an image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany.

The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 explores whether a controversial proposed boycott might have strengthened international resistance to Nazi tyranny and how the Nazis used the games as propaganda to further their agenda. The exhibition also includes stories of individual athletes who were barred because of their ethnic heritage, who boycotted the Games in protest, or who, like Jesse Owens, competed and won, refuting the Nazi myth of “Aryan” supremacy.

Exhibition installed at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul. —Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN

Exhibition installed at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul. —Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN

Exhibition installed at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. —August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Pittsburgh, PA